Artificial fly wing maker



Dec. 9, 1958 Filed July 9, 1956 INVENTOR. I 9 GEORGE L. HERTER 7- lm' 'U 8 u n w ATTORNEJ Unite SEWSPWMQQ.

2,863,250 ARriFrcIAL FLY WING MAKER George L. Herter, Waseca, Minn. q Application July 9, 1956, Serial No. 596,735 i 7 Claims. (Cl. 43-.1

My present invention relates broadly to the art of manufacturing artificial :fishing flies and the like and, more particularly, to' the means for producing a plurality of right and left-hand wingssimultaneously from right and left-hand wing feathers of the type desired.

It is well known in the art that the making of correct life-like artificial insect wings is an arduous and time consuming procedure if they are to be cut and shaped by hand to correct appearance and shape.

Thus, the principal object of my invention is to provide a device that is 'simple enough for the amateur to use and equally efiicient for the professional toform identical right and left-hand wings from wing feathers of the type desired.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wing maker capable of producing right and left-hand insect wings simultaneously-and with far greater speed than has heretofore been possible with available equipment.

A still further object of my invention isto provide a wing maker capable of producing a plurality of identical right and left-hand wings simultaneously, thus producing exact matched pairs of right and left-hand wing feathers.

These and other objects will be apparent from the following speeification, claims and appended. drawings in which throughout the several views, like characters indicate like parts.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the base portion of the invention showing one of the comb members applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the base member with a wing feather in place on the base and one of the combs perforating the same;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the comb member with a weight member attached thereto and a portion of the leg of the base broken away to show the relation of parts;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the comb and weight assembly showing one form of teeth and the guide slots; and

Fig. 5 is a view identical with Fig. 4, except that the comb is provided with coarser teeth.

2,863,250 P ten e De .9.1958

nishedas extra units, said'teeth 12 being of different widths and separation in each comb unit 11 for the purpose of making a coarser or finer wing, as may be required. j

The comb member .11 is formed of a single piece of suitable fiatmaterial and in addition to the teeth 12 comprises a backing member 13 and, as shown, a weight member 14. It may be-well to state here, for the purpose of clarity, that theweight member 14 may be an integral part or widening of the backing member or an individual weight member 14 of predetermined weight and size that is either rigidly or removably attached to The base member 6 as shown may be either square or rectangular and is provided with four outstanding leg members 7 that are offset relative to and extend outwardly of the downturned side members 8 of the base 6. Downturned front and back members 8' are identical with the member 8. The upper surface of the base member 6 is flat and the upper end portion 9 of the legs 7 are flush therewith. The leg members 7 are so arranged and constructed as described herein to afford guide members 10 for the vertical movement of a cooperating component member that will be described henceforth.

This cooperating member is in the form of a comb 11 having a plurality of longitudinally spaced teeth 12 which will, for the purpose of this invention, be fursaid backing member. V

Longitudinally and. outwardly disposed of the-row of teeth 12 in the comb member 11, and at each end thereof, are a pair of relatively wide-slots 15 that extend transversely into the comb member 11 to'the depth of the teeth and afford a stop member cooperating .with the upper flat surfaces of the base and leg members 6-9, respectively, to limit the downward projection of the comb member 11 when the same is applied to the base member 6. See Fig. 3.

As will be noted'by examination of Figs. 1 and 3, the comb member 11 is applied to the base member 6 by.

aligning the slots 15 with a pair of offset leg members 7 and thence allowing the entire comb unit to drop into its lowermost position. With theouter face of the comb unit 11 at either end thereof engaging the inner faces of a pair of the offset legs 7, as indicated by the numeral 16, outward movement of the comb 11 in a horizontal plane is limited to only slightly more than the thickness of the comb member itself. This working clearance for the outer end portion of the comb 11 is provided by the ofiset arrangement of the legs 7 wherein the distance between the legs along a plane of the front and back member 8' is greater, by substantially the thickness of the comb 11, than the distance between the leg member 7 along a plane of the side members 8. The downwardly projected teeth 12 in their normal working position are prevented from inward tilting movement by engagement of the teeth 12 with the side members 8. Thus the comb member 11 will be held upright to its work when the teeth 12 are projected through a wing feather so held on the fiat upper surface 6' of the base 6.

Operation To use my improved wing maker, a wing feather from the right wing is placed in proper alignment on the flat upper surface 6 of the base 6. An identical Wing feather is placed on the other side of the base with the quill portion of the wing feather in longitudinal alignment with the outer end portion of the upper surface of the base 6. A comb member 11 is thence aligned with the guide member 10 and is then forced. downwardly through the vanes of the feather constricting the vanes at the end adjacent the quill. The weighted member of the comb 11 and the action of the teeth 12 on the vanes will hold the comb unit in place. The Weighted comb is pressed down through the feather vanes until the top of the stop slot 15 engages the comb stop of the base 6. These stops limit the downward projection of the comb 11 through the vanes and prevent the forming of a wing having an uneven and unnatural appearance. Another comb is inserted through. a left-hand wing feather mounted on the other identical side of the base 6. Quick-drying cement is then applied to the outside of the feather comb and allowed to dry. After a thorough drying, the combs are withdrawn and it remains only to cut the individually formed right and lefthand wings from the quill as required. Obviously, a

number of wing strips can be prepared in advance of use in production.

While there are herein disclosed but a limited number of embodiments of the structure, process and product of the invention herein presented, it is possible to produce still other embodiments Without departing from the inventive concept herein disclosed, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations be imposed on the appended claims as are stated herein, or required by the prior art.

What I claim is:

1. An artificial fishing fly wing maker comprising a base member having a flat upper surface and a comb member adapted to cooperate therewith, leg members forming a portion of the base, the upper end portion of said leg member being flush with the upper flat surface of the base and constructed and arranged to afford guides for vertical movement of the cooperating comb member, said comb member comprising a backing member and a row of longitudinally spaced teeth projecting downwardly of said backing member and said comb member having a transverse slot therein inwardly disposed relative to each of the end portions thereof, said slots having a relatively loose working lit with the guide-forming leg members so as to provide for movement and Withdrawal of the comb member from the base member in a vertical plane.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein the base member is substantially square or rectangular in a horizontal plane and has at each corner thereof one of said leg members, said leg members being ofiset relative to the sides of the base member to aiford guides for vertical movement of the comb member, and a stop limiting downward movement of the cooperating comb mem her.

3. A device for forming artificial fly wings comprising a relatively transversely fiat comb member and a base member, said comb member being constructed and arranged to cooperate with guides on said base member to form a strip of right and left-hand artificial fly wings, said combmember having a row of relatively long tapered teeth depending from a backing member, a weight ii member of a correct predetermined weight and length atfixed to the backing member whereby the wing feather is held to the upper surface of the base member, said comb member having a pair of slots formed in each end portion to engage the guide formed by the arrangement of the leg member on the base, said guides extending transversely into the comb member to the depth of the teeth member.

4. The structure defined in claim 3, wherein the backing member and the weight member extend above the upper flat surface of the base member, the downward projection of the comb member being thus limited by the engagement of the upper end portion of the slots in the comb member and the upper surfaces of the base and leg members.

5. The structure defined in claim 3, wherein the leg members are offset relative to the sides and ends of the base portion whereby with the weighted comb member cooperating with the base member in a position normally at the limit of its downward projection in a vertical plane, the outer face of the comb member at its extreme longitudinal end portion outward of the slots engages the offset portion of one pair of leg members, whereby outward movement in a horizontal plane of the comb member is limited, and the inner face of the downwardly projecting teeth of the comb member engages and abuts against one side or end portion of the base member to limit inward movement of the comb member on a horizontal plane.

6. The structure defined in claim 3, wherein each pair of legs provides guide means for a comb member whereby a pair of weighted comb members may cooperate with a single base member simultaneously and wherein said teeth of said comb members may be of different degrees of coarseness, thus providing for the making of artificial wings of various weights and sizes.

7. The structure defined in claim 3, wherein the backing member and the weight are integral.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,567,623 Thompson Sept. 11, 1951 

